Every saint we ask for intercessory prayers is a persistent saint. They’re in Heaven with the Lord, and they desire for us all to be there too.
This next saint we’re calling on is especially known for being a persistent intercessor, and she also desired for those closest to her to reach Heaven someday…
It’s St. Monica! We’ll start praying the St. Monica Novena on Thursday, August 18th.
St. Monica prayed for her son’s conversion for more than 15 years. She wept and prayed constantly with faith and hope in God.
What was the result of all those years of prayer?
One of the great saints in the history of the Church: her son, St. Augustine!
That’s why Saint Monica is known for her intercession for those who have fallen away from the faith!
It’s also why we recommend that you pray this novena with the intentions that you’ve been praying for the longest — St. Monica is the perfect intercessor for those intentions!
In addition, Saint Monica is also the patron saint of alcoholics, married women, mothers, wives, and difficult marriages.
Death is inevitable, but it’s not the end. The Lord gives us hope that we will be reunited with our loved ones with Him in eternity.
It’s normal and good that death brings on grief; even Jesus wept when his friend Lazarus died (John 11:35). When we’re facing the loss of a loved one, there are many saints ready and willing to pray for us. Let’s take a look at some saints who are patrons of grief or of losing family members; these would be great novenas to pray when dealing with a loss.
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton is the patron saint of people who are grieving. Her mother and sister died when she was young. She also lost her husband and two of her five children. Not long after her husband passed, she converted to Catholicism. Elizabeth in her grief turned to God and drew closer to Him. She experienced many losses in her life, so those who are grieving the loss of a loved one could benefit from praying the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Novena.
Saint Theresa Benedicta of the Cross (St. Edith Stein)
Edith Stein was born into a large Jewish family. Her father died when she was only a toddler. She became an atheist but due to her study of philosophy, Christian influence from her peers, and reading the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila, Edith converted to Catholicism. She entered a Carmelite cloister where she lived until her arrest by the Nazi’s and execution at Auschwitz. She was killed alongside her sister. Edith is a patron saint of those who have lost a parent; the Saint Edith Stein Novena can offer comfort to those grieving the loss of a loved one.
Saint John Paul II
St. John Paul II experienced many close losses in his life. In his childhood, he lost his sister, mother, brother, and father. You could say young JPII (Karol Wojtyla) was dealt a difficult hand; he suffered much grief from the loss of so many loved ones. Even still, he did not lose hope. He turned to God, going on to study to be a priest and years later becoming pope, the bishop of Rome. St. John Paul II is a saint who was filled with hope, even amidst loss; praying the St. John Paul II Novena might bring comfort to someone who has lost a loved one, especially someone in their immediate family.
Saint Gemma Galgani
Gemma Galgani is another patron saint of those who have lost a parent. She lost her mother when she was a child and her father as a young adult. Saint Gemma Galgani suffered well throughout her life. For a time, she received the stigmata (the physical wounds of Christ). She is sometimes referred to as the Daughter of the Passion because of how she desired to unite herself to Jesus on the cross and to “suffer many things.” She wrote: “Do grant, oh my God, that when my lips approach Yours to kiss You, I may taste the gall that was given to You; when my shoulders lean against Yours, make me feel Your scourging; when my flesh is united with Yours, in the Holy Eucharist, make me feel Your passion; when my head comes near Yours, make me feel Your thorns; when my heart is close to Yours, make me feel Your spear.” Praying the St. Gemma Galgani Novena can be a comfort and reminder that even when carrying the heavy cross of losing a loved one, we can unite our sufferings with Jesus on the cross.
Saint Gianna Molla
St. Gianna Molla lost two children in miscarriages. These losses were devastating to her and her family, so much so that she could not bear to lose another baby. She is widely known for her complicated pregnancy, where she refused termination or any treatment that could harm her baby. Gianna died only a week after her last baby was born healthy. The St. Gianna Molla novena is a beautiful novena to pray if you or someone you know is grieving the loss of a pre-born baby.
Our Lady of Sorrows
Let’s not forget the person who suffered greatly at the loss of her son: Mary. Mary witnessed and experienced the death of Jesus in an intimate, excruciating way. Her heart was pierced too (Luke 2:35). Pray the Our Lady of Sorrows novena to suffer with Mary and she with you.
There’s no doubt that losing a loved one leads to sorrow. Prayer, staying close to the sacraments, and meditating on scripture will help us remember that death is not the end. Jesus conquered death so that we might have life! Alongside our sorrow, there is hope in the resurrection. As Pope John Paul II so beautifully put it, “We are an Easter people, and Alleluia is our song!”
With the countless number of novenas out there, it can be overwhelming trying to pick one to pray. To decide, consider your prayer intention, any personal devotions or patrons you already have, and the novena prayer dates coming up.
First thing’s first: figure out your prayer intention.
Truly take some time in prayer to identify what you’d like to bring to the Lord. Your intention can be general, specific, for yourself, for your friend, for the world as a whole; the options are endless. And don’t be afraid to be bold in your petition; after all, Saint Teresa of Avila reminds us that “[y]ou pay God a compliment by asking great things of Him.”
Once you have settled on your prayer intention, find out who the patron saint of the subject is or any saint that has a connection to it in some way.
For example, if you’d like to pray for pregnant women to be courageous and choose life, a novena to Saint Gianna Beretta Molla would be a great choice as she is a patron saint of mothers and she herself experienced a complicated pregnancy.
Or perhaps your intention is for a dying family member to have peace in their time left on earth; Saint Joseph is the patron saint of a happy death, so a novena to St. Joseph would fit well.
Don’t worry if there isn’t a perfect fit for what you are praying for. Your prayers will be heard no matter what!
Lean into the Devotions and Patrons you have.
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel so to speak when choosing a novena to pray. Sometimes, it’s good to stick to what and who you know. Do you have some spiritual friends or powerhouses you go to time and time again? A confirmation saint, namesake, or a saint whom you ask for prayers from often? A saint like this makes for a great choice even if the traditional prayer dates (their feast day, for example) don’t align with when you’d like to pray since there is already a sense of closeness between you and the saint as well as a shared intimacy that comes with prayer and relationship with the Lord. It also can simplify the decision-making process if you are having a hard time choosing.
You can also let your devotions lead you. Perhaps you have a special devotion to Divine Mercy, the Sacred Heart of Jesus or the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Corpus Christi, or the Holy Trinity. Not all novenas are connected to a saint; there are plenty that come from devotions in the Church and would make for a wonderful addition to your prayer life, especially if you already have a special love for the subject matter.
Choose Upcoming Feast Days
The traditional way novenas were prayed is by praying in the days leading up to a saint’s feast day. This is a beautiful way to engage in ancient tradition as well as praying the same prayers at the same time as Catholics all around the world.
You can easily look up the church calendar and scan through the feast days in the near future; pick one you’d like to pray, find the novena prayers on our website, and begin 9 days before the feast. Choosing a novena based on the calendar can be a wonderful experience; you might just get to know a new saint or develop a new devotion because of it.
You can also look through all the novenas we have and see what intentions might be a good fit for you here.
Regardless of how you pick which novena to pray, the most important thing is that you choose one! The Lord is lovingly and patiently awaiting you in prayer and you cannot go wrong in praying to Him with a receptive and loving heart.
Patron Saints for Financial Difficulties & Novenas to pray
The Bible is not silent about money. We read in Ecclesiastes 5:10: “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income.” Remember also, the young man who wanted to follow Jesus, but when Jesus told him to sell his things and give to the poor, “he went away sad, because he had great wealth.” (Matthew 19:21-22)
These verses consider those who might be struggling with greed. What about when we’re struggling to pay our bills? If we believe that God is who He says He is, then He must care about every part of our lives, including our struggles, even one such as being overwhelmed about debt or wanting to get to a place of financial stability. Don’t be afraid to bring a financial need to the Lord in prayer!
Hebrews 13:5 grounds us from becoming greedy and serves as a good reminder of the place money should have in our lives. “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
There are many saints who are patrons of financial difficulties or have a connection to poverty. Praying a novena to them can be of great help!
St. Matthew, one of the twelve apostles, was a tax collector before joining Jesus. He is the patron Saint of Accountants, Bankers, Bookkeepers, Tax collectors, and money management. He was also one of Jesus’s closest friends, so you really can’t go wrong praying a novena to him. You can find the novena prayers here.
St. Jude was also one of the twelve apostles. He is the patron saint of hope and impossible causes. Sometimes financial stress can make us feel hopeless or like we’re in an impossible situation. Let Saint Jude return your hope with this novena.
St. Joseph was responsible for taking care of Mary and Jesus financially. He is a man of many titles, one of which is St. Joseph the Worker. Perhaps you are out of work, or are hoping for something new. Ask St. Joseph for his prayers with this novena!
Saint Cajetan was a priest devoted to charity. He dedicated his life to serving the sick and poor. He even founded a nonprofit to help the poor get to a better place financially. Pray this novena to this holy man.
Mother Angelica was a poor Clare nun and is best known for establishing the Eternal Word television network (EWTN). She grew up with many hardships, including financial difficulties. She learned to have complete trust in God over every aspect of her life, even when it came to money. She tells a story of ordering equipment but not having the money to pay for it; she trusted that the Lord would provide and in the last minute, a donation came in to cover the purchase. Mother Angelica is not yet a saint, but she’s on her way. She understands financial difficulty because she went through it too. Pray this novena to Mother Angelica.
Ever wonder where the tradition of putting gold (chocolate) coins in our children’s shoes on St. Nick’s feast day came from? The legend is that Saint Nicholas, an early Church bishop, would secretly toss gold coins through open windows of women for their dowries. Pray this novena and confide in a saint who has a special love for the poor.
St. Bernadette is a patron saint of poverty as she grew up in a family without many resources. She had a great love for Our Lady, who appeared to her in Lourdes. Pray this novena and she will pray for you!
St. Teresa, a modern day saint, was a nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity. She dedicated her life to serving the poor. In doing this, she became poor and suffered in many ways for love of God. Find the novena prayers here.
Other Novenas to Pray
There are countless novenas you can pray when having financial difficulties. Many will be to saints as listed above, but there are also novenas for specified intentions or to Jesus or Mary such as:
As we enter into the month of August, join us in praying one or more of these novenas by following along with the prayers on our website or by signing up to have the daily prayers sent straight to your inbox.
We’ll announce the next community novena soon — that’s the one we all pray together as a community, once a month :)
The Catholic Church dedicates each month to a special devotion, and it dedicates August to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
This particular devotion came from Pope Pius XII, who following the requests of Our Lady of Fatima to spread devotion to her, established the Feast of the Immaculate Heart on August 22. This feast was later switched with the Queenship of Mary, but the monthly devotion remained.
While you can pray the Novena to the Immaculate Heart of Mary anytime during this month, you may choose to pray it beginning August 14 leading up to the Feast of the Queenship of Mary. As you offer your prayer, remember Mary’s words at Fatima: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will Triumph.”
We remember Franciscan martyr Saint Maximilian Kolbe primarily for his display of heroic virtue and self-sacrificial love as a prisoner in Auschwitz. While imprisoned in the concentration camp, Kolbe offered his life in place of another man sentenced to die by starvation.
The Church turns to him as the patron saint of those struggling with addiction to drugs and eating disorders, as well as families and the Pro-life movement. So no matter your need, consider praying to this holy man.
The Solemnity of the Assumption commemorates the Blessed Mother’s body and soul being brought up to heaven at the end of her earthly life.
The feast reminds us of the power and grace of God to work miracles in our life. It also offers hope to all of us walking toward heaven, that we might one day experience the same fullness of joy as our Blessed Mother.
If you need prayers for a big intention, Saint Monica has long been known for her powerful intercession.
For years, Monica prayed fervently for the conversion of her pagan husband and her wayward son. Through her perseverance, her son eventually converted and became one of the greatest saints and philosophers in the Church–Saint Augustine!
The Church recognizes her as the patron saint of wives and mothers. You can pray the Novena to Saint Monica beginning August 18th for yourself, for a wife or mother, or for conversion within your family.
After living a hedonistic lifestyle for years, Augustine turned to God and completely transformed his life. He went on to become one of the most prominent defenders of the faith, a Doctor of the Church, and a great saint especially for those seeking the Truth.
Fittingly, the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Augustine the day after the feast of his holy mother, as her prayers lead to his powerful conversion. So if you find yourself relating more to Augustine than his mother, take this opportunity to invoke his intercession.
Both the Church and the secular world remember Saint Teresa of Calcutta, or Mother Teresa, for her great love of the poor and the forgotten.
She founded the Missionaries of Charity who still care for the sick, the abandoned, the unwanted, and the dying. Mother Teresa saw the face of Jesus in each person she encountered, especially in the slums of Calcutta, and invited others to do the same.
Do you plan to pray any of these novenas this month? Leave a comment and let us know. And as always, please feel free to leave your prayer intentions with us below.
If you’ve had your prayers answered in any way throughout this novena, please share those with us all below. It adds to our hope to hear how the Lord is working in your lives!
We are praying for you every day.
Please do not give up on hope. Jesus is with you and you are not alone!
A little more than twelve years ago, I was praying a novena in the hopes of meeting my future husband soon — I asked the Lord to introduce me to a good Catholic man. Shortly after praying that novena, I met John-Paul, and now, we are married and coming up on our tenth wedding anniversary!
The next novena we’re praying together is the one I prayed all those years ago: the St. Anne Novena!
We will start praying on July 17th! That’s this Sunday. :)
St. Anne is the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the grandmother of Jesus. She is a very powerful intercessor!
You may have heard that those discerning marriage often pray to St. Anne for help in finding a spouse. But, St. Anne is also known to intercede for people for almost any request, and especially for healing.
You could also ask for her intercession for your marriage, for your grandparents or grandchildren, to grow in holiness and patience. You can ask her to pray for whatever it is that’s on your heart, she will bring your intentions to Jesus!
We hope you will join us in praying this novena! We will be praying for you and your intentions throughout the novena.
Thank you so much for praying the Sacred Heart of Jesus Novena with us!
If you’ve had any of your prayers answered throughout this novena, please share those with us all below!
We will continue to pray for you every day.
Please do not give up hope if your prayers have not been seemingly answered yet. The Lord is with you, He is near, let’s continue to seek His guidance each day.
The Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is celebrated 19 days after Pentecost, so we start praying this novena on Wednesday, June 10th — that’s one week away!
For this novena, we will reflect on Jesus’ love for each and every one of us. We will pray for our hearts to be conformed to His Sacred Heart, for us to be more merciful, more loving, and more Christ-like.
